Chapter Text
It was almost terrifyingly quiet in the car ride to Jim's house. Every time Murphy tried to say something he just... choked. Quincy seemed in the same boat. Even Bruce was quiet for a good while...
Murphy finally said, "Beer. The Boss never has enough beer- only the fancy shit- we need to stop and get enough beer."
Quincy added, "And cider, and soft drinks..."
“And order takeaway,” Bruce nodded, already working on changing their route to a liquor store. “Jesus christ. How did-” He shook his head, “On… the upside, I suppose… that means that Boss is… extra secure, now. If he’s… with… Excelsior. Romantically.” Bruce nearly choked on the last word, “What the fuck.”
His house was packed by the time he got there with Sebastian. The smell of chinese food wafted through the place and there was evidence of drinking already- a few cases that had been cracked into, his good liquor cabinet door open still. Everyone was there; Bianca, Louis, Scotty, Andrew, Quincy, Neal, Murphy, Wes, Johnson, and Bruce- Jim could already foresee the mess of a conversation that they’d have…
He and Jack were… well, it was rather evident how they’d spent the time in the car on the way over. Developing love bites were growing on tanned skin and the man’s hair was a ruffled mess, both of them looking rumpled and unkept… and they’d stayed outside for much, much longer than needed.
Honestly, he wanted drag Sebastian off to the bedroom, crowded house be damned.
“Before we start, I am absolutely taking something preventative for the migraine you’re all sure to cause. Do not upset Sebastian while I’m gone-” He kissed the sweetheart on the cheek, “Get yourself some food, darling… I’ll be right back.”
--
Sebastian gave him the look most of the crew was very familiar with- 'adoring Golden retriever'- and once Jim left? everyone tried to talk at once.
The people who knew Jack- not Excelsior, Jack- recognized the overwhelmed look immediately and most of them trailed off... Sebastian went to the 'buffet' that had been set up, and let Bianca put food on a plate for him.
"You and Louis are ok, right? It wasn't my rifle and it was a close shot..." He looked around at everyone, "Ummm... I... did... try to tell you about my background when we were in the Maldives..."
--
“Dude,” B shook her head, putting a hand on Sebastian’s shoulder, “At the very least, one of us is alive still because of you. Close shot or not you were fucking amazing.” She guided the man to a chair, letting him get comfortable before she passed him his food and offered to get him a drink. “And the stories at the Maldives were super vague- Murphy has been going on and on…”
“Quincy made it sound like this… Excelsior was a killing machine and a god among men- even if we knew your full background…” Bruce trailed off, “Well, it… didn’t… doesn’t fit.”
“You’re…” Johnson agreed, “We even told them you were a damn good shot, but we didn’t piece that together at all- hell, we told you a bit about this ‘soldier’ they were all looking for and didn’t catch it!”
Louis grinned from his chair, an unlit cigarette tucked behind his ear, “Does this mean we are hiring him? And did you like my work with the prison? I told the Boss that if I had known it was lovey-dovey I would have made the explosion pop in little heart shapes…”
--
"I used to be..." Sebastian said quietly. "But I also didn't used to get overwhelmed grocery shopping..."
Murphy was sitting with that sort of blandly pleasant face that could mean anything- but usually meant he was thinking- and Quincy shook his head slowly, "Well... ah... from what I've heard you haven't lost your magic touch with shooting... uh..."
Neal- who hadn't known him as well- cleared his throat, "I... ah... only heard about you with girls? You're gay?"
But while they were talking, and he was thanking B for the food, and all... something... snagged in his mind. "You're Louis, right? Uh... did I like what? I'm sorry, but what work with what prison?"
--
Louis stared at him appalled. “You didn’t see the news?! Oh, I am so glad I filmed--” And then he was moving to lean against Jack’s chair, pulling out his phone, “I told the Boss I knew it would be my best work yet- I had to get it filmed for posterity! It’s art!”
On the screen, a rather steady shot of the Ashmount Military Prison- an aerial view, likely from a drone judging by how steady the footage was- played…
“Of course, I did a wonderful job- the Boss was mostly worried about the faculty, not the prisoners… we got quite a few new employees that ‘died’ in the explosion,” Louis chattered on happily, “Oh, you’ll love this bit- the first go is always my favourite. Watch that outer wall there…”
Jim made it back into the room just as Louis was rather animatedly explaining how he’d rigged it all, expressing his disappointment- again- that he hadn’t been told it was a romantic gift, or he’d have at least added some sparkle.
--
Sebastian was staring at the prison exploding- over and over again- as Louis pointed out technical pieces... He had just managed to speak, asking if that was Ashmount?! "Where I was?" (after all, he had never seen an aerial view).
Murphy gave Jim a look that may as well have telegraphed- oh we have SO got to talk.
Quincy was quietly asking Bruce, "Two years, give or take, of solitary… and he still dropped a sniper off the beach house with a pistol he never shot with, and dropped a sniper at range with a pistol, and used an unknown sniper rifle to take out Norwitch or whoever... Do you see why we were kinda worried about who the guy was working for?"
--
Bruce leaned in to answer Quincy- “You have literally no idea how glad I am that he’s here and the Boss is banging him instead of him being off somewhere…”
“Oh, that used to be Ashmount. Now it’s just Ash-Rubble,” Louis grinned, “Or just Ash. The Boss gave me the full go-ahead to get creative… Ah, some of my best work in years-”
“Sweetheart-” Jim came to sit by the man, touching him lightly and giving a look at Louis, “I’m sure they’ve all thrown quite a lot at you… If you’d like me to, I can tell them all to back off.”
Louis apparently got the memo and pocketed his phone, “Ah… yes, it’s… a pleasure to meet you, finally…”
Sebastian turned wide, amazed eyes at Jim, "You had him blow up the prison? Was... was that for me?!"
Murphy added another year's worth of therapy to the running estimate in his head.
--
“Of course,” Jim wrapped an arm around Sebastian, leaning to kiss his cheek, “They treated you horribly… I believe I contacted Louis the day after you told me the name of the prison so he could get to work. They certainly didn’t deserve to be alive if they worked there… and I let him handle any prisoners we might want to hire…”
Bruce and Murphy exchanged looks.
Jim continued, “Do you like it?”
--
It was gone. The cell and the hallway, and the bars with the baton ringing off it... it was gone. The kitchen that made the blandest food in existence, and the toilet, and the door that was almost always closed... it was gone. Sebastian was just too overwhelmed to speak. He wrapped his arms around the Professor's and turned his head into his chest and tried not to cry.
Murphy looked at Bianca, and then at Johnson and Bruce and started moving everyone- and the food and drink because they were sensible people- into another room.
Once they were a closed door away- at least, Murphy thumbed back at the two of them, "That's... that's Excelsior's shooting, and probably all the other skills, but that... isn't the Colonel Moran I knew."
--
B looked worriedly towards the living room where they’d left the Boss and Jack- Sebastian. The cigar lounge was a lovely place- not that Jim smoked cigars, but it was a classic feature of a home this old… and horribly far away from the living room, which made snooping impossible. “Jack- Sebastian? He… said they had him locked in solitary for almost two years. Fuck, a few days is enough to break a man!”
“You said it yourself,” Bruce nodded at Quincy and Murphy as he leaned to grab another beer, “Touch-starved, attention-starved… not much kindness thrown at him. The Boss comes in and is nice online, then nicer in person… Jim’s charisma…?” He frowned, “I don’t… know how I feel about it, really. Boss admitted he was getting obsessed with the guy when we confronted him about Jacob, and he… wasn’t going to meet him, but now…” Bruce gestured towards the door, “Well- you heard the whole ‘pretty sure I love him’ thing he said last night!”
Johnson and Wes nodded, and Johnson added, "When we took him to the range... even the first shots were..." He looked at Wes for confirmation, "Well I would have said he was a damn good shot- someone we would recruit- but according to him he hadn't touched a pistol or range or anything except the one Bruce gave him..."
Wes picked it up, "After a bit of time getting back into it? He was outshooting both of us."
Quincy nodded, and looked at B, "We weren't there... can... can you folks tell us what happened? I heard you were walking, went around a corner and Jack... threw the Boss back, and then there was a shot?"
Murphy sighed, "Sounds like Excelsior- the man damn near had a sixth sense in the field..."
"Oh yeah, I had eyes on them the whole time..." B nodded enthusiastically, "It was mental. Like he just knew... right as they were rounding the corner he grabbed the Boss and threw him back into Wes--"
"I'm going to take this as a sign that was a 'good' surprise, not a bad one," Jim hummed softly, arms wrapped around Sebastian's shoulders, cradling his head gently as the man clung to him. He was almost certain Jack was crying, or had been crying- he could feel the man's shuddering breaths and the way he shook, burying his face into his shirt, "That just shows how possessive I was of you, even that early on... The very idea that someone met you- you!- and decided to hurt you? Oh, I could never let that stand..."
He continued on, "You deserve to have a very, very happy life, sweetheart. So I found your books and got rid of that horrible prison and I'm trying to find that painting, but your family is absolutely awful- did you know that? Just horrid. Your uncle hasn't shut his trap over why I want the damn thing- just give it to me so I can stick it in a nice room for you here... Oh, maybe the library... We can have Tiger Jack looking down at my lovely Tiger Jack while you read me poetry and stories..."
Sebastian kept sniffling and Jim kissed the top of his head.
"My uncle... was a lot like my father... only lazier and even more snobbish..." Sebastian finally managed to say into Jim's shirt."Can... can we go get that shower and..." He looked up, "You… I keep worrying that you were hurt..."
“Me? Never,” Jim replied solemnly, leaning to kiss his nose, “I’m practically immortal, you know- death is too afraid to come after me. He owes me money.” That got a bit of a smile and Jim coaxed the man to stand, “A warm shower, as my Tiger wishes. I’m going to inform our guests to let themselves out eventually and to clean up after themselves. Would you like to stay with me, or meet me in the bedroom?”
Jack said he wanted to stay, so Jim waited until he’d wiped his face and looked a bit more presentable before leading them to the lounge, where he rapped on the door frame before fully opening the door. It gave the team a chance to shut up, and thankfully most of them took it.
“I’ve had a terribly trying day, what with almost being killed, so I’m heading to bed and Jack- Sebastian- has graciously offered to keep me company.” He raised an eyebrow, “You miscreants can stay and empty my liquor cabinet, but I ask that you clean up after yourself once you're leaving. I think we’ve covered the most important topics tonight, or at least you all have gotten each other caught up, so anything else can be discussed tomorrow, after Sebastian and I sleep in.”
He glanced about the room, “Questions before we retire? No? Wonderful. Lock up when you leave,” and Jim turned, shutting the door behind him with a click. “Now, we’ll go upstairs and you can inspect every inch of me, if you’d like, to make sure I’m alright.”
--
Sebastian would have carried him, but honestly he was tired... "Adrenaline coming down is always such a pain..." He admitted as they went to the bath. "I always feel like... like I'm wrung out: otherwise I'd carry you, you know..."
They got to the bathroom and Sebastian insisted that the Professor strip down and let him look him over. He had a few scrapes- places where the flying concrete bits had gotten far too close, but luckily his trousers had taken the brunt of it. Sebastian carefully washed off the scratches, kissing him once he was clean and rinsed... It was clear that Sebastian was perfectly willing to do anything Jim could ask, but it was equally obvious that a shower floor was not the place for either of them today- not when there was a soft bed at hand.
Sebastian commented, as he dried them both off, "Towels- I never appreciated good towels before... they make prison towels of burlap rejects: even military towels are better..." and as they moved to the bedroom he started shaking a bit again... "That place is really... it’s gone? really?"
--
“Really,” Jim promised, “You will never go back there again. It’s rubble, and everyone who might have hurt you is gone too.” He pulled Sebastian in, holding the larger man in his arms, “And no one will ever hurt you again- not as long as I’m here to protect you, sweetheart…”
It was hard to get into the bed still holding Sebastian but he managed, letting the man curl against him, clinging to him in the dark. “You know,” Jim spoke quietly, fingers trailing through Sebastian’s hair, “I might have to do some minor renovations on this house… I was so excited for you to see the things I changed for you in Monty’s home- there were supplies so you could try and garden… and I had them add the stars to your ceiling, twinkling softly in the dark, just like they did in the Maldives. A star-eaten blanket of the sky, just for my Tiger, so you never needed to sleep outside again…”
Sebastian was warm, a reassuring weight in his arms, the dark of the room resting over them like thick, soft velvet. “You have no idea how lucky I was to find you, Sebastian… I said I saw talent and potential in you, and I still do- but I’ve been incredibly lucky to get to watch you grow into that already… And you haven't flinched a bit at all that has been thrown at you- me, my work, multiple attempts on our lives…” He sighed contentedly, “I said I could get very obsessive- I most certainly am, over you. It’s no wonder I love you- you're utterly brilliant… The best gift I’ve ever gotten.”
--
Sebastian tried to say something, but what could he possibly say to this man who had saved his life, given him a purpose beyond spite to live for? He fell back on other people's words again.
With a somewhat rough voice he said, "Rumi wrote: 'You have no idea how hard I've looked for a gift to bring You. Nothing seemed right. What's the point of bringing gold to the gold mine, or water to the ocean. Everything I came up with was like taking spices to the Orient. It's no good giving my heart and my soul because you already have these...' You are the best gift I could ever have gotten... something to live for instead of simply... against. Someone to curl up under that blanket of stars with..."
After a pause he spoke again, into Jim's ear- more or less- "You said you were not a nice man, that you were afraid I would find out that you weren't kind or good... but I wasn't... who I am now either: I'm shattered into a million tiny pieces, but you saw stars in the sky..."
Jim tilted his head, turning the very best he could to catch those poetry-laden lips with his own, the kiss soft and sweet in the dark. “A million beautiful stars… and I certainly intend to learn about and cherish each and every one of them.”
--
FIN